Greetings from Gate 21

My fellow citizens of Vol Nation, Greetings.

That’s right, I’m the new guy…

To some of you, I am probably familiar.  Yes, I am the “lawvol” who has pontificated from Gate 21—the site that I published for the past several years chronicling the exploits of our beloved Vols.  To others, I suppose I am a new face.  To others still, I am simply further evidence of the continuing decline of the moral fabric of our society.

Such is life…

Regardless of which category that you may fall in, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself formally before blazing a new trail here on the VN Blog.

Since 2007 I published Gate 21, which was a labor of love which led me in directions I never could have imagined.  Suffice it to say, I jumped in with both feet and never looked back.  I cannot say that all of the articles published at Gate 21 were life-changing examples of good writing, but I did try to have fun discussing the Vols, the SEC, and “Life, the Universe, and the Bounce of the Ball.”  During the process I developed many relationships across the web with fellow members of the Big Orange Nation, many of which can regularly be found posting and lurking here at VN.

Despite my love of writing, blogging, and otherwise adding to the perpetual conversation on the Vols, I recently came to the realization that, after 2 1/2 years, more than 600 posts, four major site redesigns, and an infinite number of photoshopped images, I simply could no longer keep “the Gate” going on my own.  Thus, last week, Gate 21 formally “closed.” While I was ready to end the run of my humble experiment running my own Tennessee website, I was not ready to hang up my license to blog.  One thing led to another, and as a result of a complete lack of sound judgment on his part, Vol Freak offered me the chance to join on here with the VN Blog.

So, here I am…

I won’t take the time to give you or my full biography because I know you could care less about my astrological sign, whether I like long walks on the beach, and so forth.  I will, however, give you the thumbnail sketch:

I am a less than reputable sort, who earns his money as a shyster and evidence manipulation specialist (a/k/a “lawyer”).  I am a graduate of the University of Tenne-”stand up and smile when you say it“-see, who also attended Tarhead U for “trade school.”  For the past 10 years I have lived in the bowels of ACC Territory as an SEC transplant in Raleigh, North Carolina.  As a season ticketholder I routinely make the 6 1/2 hour drive back to Knoxville to see the Vols play.

You may be asking yourself, “So, what exactly can some degenerate lawyer from North Carolina possibly have to add to Vol Nation other than a bad reputation?”  That’s a fair question, I asked it myself.  The long and short of it is that the primary thing I hope to add here is a bit of “color.” Aside from that, I’m pretty much forgettable.  If you haven’t noticed by now, I tend to be a bit tongue-in-cheek and many of my posts tend to have humorous or irreverent undertones.  I love the Vols but if you can’t laugh at some of the silliness that accompanies modern college sports, then you need to seriously consider taking up a hobby such as chronic alcoholism.  That said, I have been known on occasion to write serious pieces offering my perspectives, memories, and observations on the life and times of the team that we love.  If you’d like to see a little more of my work from the past work, or know more about me, feel free to poke about at Gate 21 or at the Tennessee Home for the Visual Offensive (which may—stress “may”—end up being relocated here at VN at some point in the future).

All of this is simply my way of saying “Hello!”

At any rate, the VN Blog is my new home, and I am really excited to be a part of the blog.  Hopefully, I’ll last longer than the Coach Whose Name Shall Not be Mentioned.  Hopefully, I’ll be more successful than the most recent Coach at Tiger High.  Either way, I look forward to getting to know more of you.  I promise that I’ll try to keep from annoying you too much.

Either way, if you have the undying desire to send me hate mail, feel free to leave a comment here at the VN Blog, send me a PM in the Forums, buzz me on Twitter, or (since I am still in the process of making the transition from Gate 21) email me via my old contact form.  Oh, and for the record, due to extremely bad planning on my part, my byline here on the VN Blog does not match my Username in the Forums.  So please don’t flame “Law Vol” for the crap that I write.

Either way, I am thrilled to be a part of Vol Nation.  Thanks for having me, and I’ll try not to trash the place…

— So it goes …